The parents of an 8-year-old Harrisburg girl who lost a 20-inch section of hair when a teacher cut it off without their permission have filed a lawsuit against St. Margaret Mary Catholic school.
The lawsuit, filed by Julia and Darin Smith in January against the school at 826 Herr Street, said the incident occurred Friday Nov. 17, at the Chapel building during the end of music class when the homeroom teacher arrived to escort her second-graders back to their homeroom.
The students were told to sit on the floor inside the music classroom, according to the daughter’s report. The kids were supposed to line up on Velcro dots attached to the floor.
“There was a little girl sitting across from her in the classroom and they were making faces at each other and doing head movements,” said Julia Smith. “Then she gets her hair stuck in this Velcro.”
According to the school report that was shared with PennLive, a portion of her hair became stuck in the dots. Their daughter described the dot as the size of her hand.
Julia and Darin Smith spoke to PennLive about their lawsuit but did not want their daughter’s name published to protect her privacy.
The girl couldn’t remove the Velcro herself so he went to the teachers for help, but they couldn’t get it out either, her mom said. The child asked them to cut the Velcro out, and the music teacher said she was concerned the girl could get hurt if she cut her own hair, the parents said.
That’s when the music teacher used scissors “to cut only along the edge of the dot so that she did not lose anymore hair than was stuck on the Velcro,” according to the school report.
Approximately 20 inches of a section of the girl’s long hair was chopped off, her parents said.
After PennLive contacted the Diocese of Harrisburg, the Executive Director of Public Relations Rachel Bryson provided the following statement: “Due to the active litigation involving a minor, it is not appropriate for us to comment at this time.”
On the day of the incident, when her dad picked up their kids after school around 2:30 p.m., his daughter didn’t mention the haircut. He also said there was no communication from the staff members.
They discovered what happened after Julia came home from work and noticed a voicemail from their daughter’s homeroom teacher that came at 3:20 p.m., the parents said.
“[Name] was having a difficult time following the instructions, she was laying on the ground during instruction, and her hair got caught in one of the Velcro circles the music teacher had on the ground,” the voicemail said.
“And in order to take the Velcro circle out of her hair we did have to cut some of her hair. It was stuck and it wasn’t coming out. So I wanted to inform you that that happened. Thank you and have a great weekend.”
Shocked, the father sent an email to principal Jesse Read that night:
“I need to understand why my daughter’s hair was cut during music class this afternoon before dismissal. Why were we not informed until after the fact? Her hair was stuck in a piece of Velcro, but it wasn’t gum or glue. To say I am upset doesn’t begin to describe my level of disappointment and frustration with this situation. School should be a safe place for our children. I look forward to speaking with you on Monday.”
The parents followed up with a phone call at 8:50 a.m. Monday and were surprised the principal said he was unaware of the situation.
After they informed the principal about the haircut, the principal apologized for how the situation was handled, the parents said. The father also shared that, culturally, cutting a Black girl’s hair is strongly frowned upon.
“A lot of things in her culture is tied to her hair, and we tell our daughter that no one is allowed to touch her hair,” he said.
“But we also tell her to respect authority,” he said. “So you have two grown people telling her that they’ve exhausted everything and that they have to cut her hair, she’s going to go along with it. She’s 8 years old.”
The parents said they think the school nurse and principal should have been involved and they should have been consulted before a teacher resorted to a hair cut. The parents also said the school should train staff members on proper procedures, protocols and cultural sensitivity to support the demographics of the students attending the school.
The principal agreed that they would work on implementing those recommendations, apologized again and said he would get details from the teachers and follow up with the parents later in the day, the parents said.
When the principal called back, the homeroom teacher was also on the call. The parents felt as if they were blaming their daughter. The principal eventually said he wanted to check with the music teacher and promised to call them back.
But the parents said they never received a call during that week going into Thanksgiving break, which started on Nov. 22, the parents said.
That’s when the Smiths said they contacted a lawyer.
In the lawsuit, the parents said they asked if their daughter could be removed from the music class and the homeroom class.
They said they were told by the principal that they must check with the Harrisburg diocese, then nothing changed. Instead, the parents said they used their lunch breaks to pull their daughter from school during music class so she wouldn’t have to spend time with that teacher.
The girl has been working with a therapist, her parents said.
“We found out through counseling that they made her apologize for being disruptive before they cut her hair in front of her classmates,” Darin Smith said.
Some of her classmates turned their heads and covered their eyes, other kids were crying when the incident happened, according to the daughter’s report.
“Some kids were screaming at the teachers ‘Don’t do it,’” said Julia Smith. “For her little self to have to experience that is heartbreaking. But I told her, none of this is your fault.”
The parents decided to pull her out of the school in January and begin online learning after they say their son’s third-grade teacher asked “if his sister was going to be a problem next year.”
Their other sons said they were hearing other teachers talk about her, “asking if her hair is even real,” the parents said.
The lawsuit said their daughter was “humiliated” in front of the classroom. Since then, other concerned parents contacted them because their kids told them about what transpired and said their daughter is known for being an enjoyable person and a “light in the classroom,” according to the Smiths.
Their daughter also said that she misses her school friends.
“For the students to witness that happen to one of their friends, I can’t imagine that it didn’t impact them in a negative way,” Darin Smith said.
They believe the entire situation could have been avoided if people were held accountable.
“Even if you think something’s inconsequential, it can impact someone if you’re not aware or ignorant to the person you’re interacting with because of their culture and background,” he said.
As far as communication goes, the parents said they have not received any comments from the principal or the two teachers, as the school is having them communicate with their lawyer.
They also said “the music teacher has not apologized to our child about cutting her hair, and that was something that she wanted.”
